Carbid-holder



UNI ED sTATEs PATENT oEEloE.

LEXANDER E. JENKINs, 0F BALTIMORE, MARYLAND.

CARBID-HOLDER.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ALEXANDER F. JEN- KINs, a citizen of the United States of America, residing in the city of Baltimore, State of Maryland, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Carbid- Holders, of which the fOllOWing is a specification.

In my co-pending application, Serial No. 184,195, I have described a generator having as a carbid receptacle a series of tapering overlapping pockets, the arrangement of which is preferably in the form of a spiral or helix. The pockets as shown are supportedon radially placed plates having apertures for the flow or feed of the water, shown as overlapping in the intersecting horizontal planes and spirally or helically arranged to. correspond to the pockets so that the feed may be described as spiral or helical. The carbid is wetted gradually according to the demand for or consumption of gas without any sudden increases or cessations of generation except in correspondence with the demand. The spiral arrangement of the tapering, preferably conical, pockets also has the advantages that it supports the increasing bulk of the carbid as it is acted upon by the water and the tapering pockets are easily emptied and refilled on recharging the generator.

lVith pockets of the old types having a fiat bottom surface so that when the water reaches the pocket, the entire cross-section of carbid in the container is immediately submerged, a sudden increase in rate of generation results, or generation may dropofi entirely or become much less than the de mand when the water level reaches a. space between the containers so that it engages no new carbid.

The object of the present invention is to produce a carbid supporter havinga single container presenting a constant horizontal cross-section of the carbid at each water level, or, if desired, the cross-section of material wetted may be slightly increased as the water level approaches the top. This holder also has the advantages of accessibility for filling and emptying with room and support for the consumed material.

In the present instance, in order to produce a carbid support presenting equal or substantiall equal cross-section to the water at each leve I have made the carbid holder in the form of a helix, or in a form ap-' v Specification of Letters Patent.

washer 5 at the bottom,

' of generation filled with proaching a helix, the vertical transverse section of the elongated container, which may be referred to as wound about the'celltral core or support, being preferably V shaped or tapered. This holder is shown as per- Patented May 2'7, 1919. Application filed April 17, 1918. Serial No. 229,106.

forated and provided with transverse partitions to prevent the flowing or slipping of the carbid down the incline of the helix. These partitions or radiating plates may to advantage be perforatedtoprovide for the spiral or helical feed or flow of the water to the carbid. l

In the accompanying drawing, I have illustrated a generator equipped with a carbid holder in accordance with my invention in the preferred form.

Figure 1 is a vertical central section through the generator, showing the carbid holder in elevation; and

Fig. 2 is a section on the line 2, 2 of a Fig. 1.]

Referring to the drawings by numerals, I have shown anouter casing 1, an inner inverted drum or cylinder 2, a cylindrical casing 3 inside the drlnn,,a gas pipe 4 leading upward from the top of the drum and downward through the liquid in the tank toward the washer 5. From a point near the a delivery pipe 6 leads upward to; the top of the tank. The entire apparatus is water-sealed, the water normally having its top level near the top of the tank. To accomplish the water-sealing, the pipes 4 and 6, that is the pipe 4 leading from the top of the drum 2 downward to the bottom of the tank, and thepipe 6 leading from the bottom-of the tank outward to thedelivery valve 7, are of comparatively large cross-section, the washer having small pipes 8, 9 leading therefrom to points above the water level and telescoped within the I I corresponding pipes 4, 6. The drum 2 is inverted in the water, being at the beginning air which keeps the water from entering'the drum, the pressure in the drum being supplied by the depth of water in the tank. These features are described and shown in my co-pending application.

The important feature of the present invention is foundin the contour and arrangement of the carbid holder or support. This may be properly described as an elongated container of downwardly tapering transverse cross-section, 2'. e., of decreasing width from the top toward the bottom of the vertical transverse cross-section, the elongated container being wound about a central upright or axis in the form of a helix or spiral. This elongated container, which is preferably of tapering crosssection, is inclicated by reference character 10, the same having a central upright support or axis 11 about which it is wound, in the form of the invention illustrated, substantially in ahelix. It is also provided with transverse partitions 12 arranged at intervals to prevent undue settling of the material down the incline of the helix. These partitions may to advantage be perforated as indicated by the apertures 1% on the drawing, the perforations tending to give the water a helical feed along the container. At the bottom, the support has a foot or rest which may be in the form of a cross to engage the shelf 15 on the inside cylinder 3, the latter resting on the radiating portions of the pipes 8 and 9, or any other suitable support.

When the apparatus is operatively assembled, the carbid support or container is inclosed within the inverted drum 2, submerged in the water in the external tank, the water being cXcluded from the drum by the air impounded therein. When the delivery valve is opened, a portion of the air escapes, the water rises and wets the carbid and generation begins. Thereafter, the level of the water advances as the carbid is consumed, the level of the Water which regulates generation being controlled by the gas pressure which is in turn controlled by the relation of the rate of consumption to the rate of generation, so that with a uniform or substantially uniform cross-section of carbid exposed to the action of the water at all levels, the rate of generation after the apparatus is once started becomes and remains equal to or very nearly equal to the rate of consumption.

lVith the apparatus described which consists of an elongated receptacle for the carbid, preferably tapered in transverse crosssection, wound spirally or helically about a central axis or support, there is a constant or nearly constant cross-section of carbid at. each level exposed to the action of the advancing water. While this has been referred to as substantially constant or substantially equal at all points, it is evident that owing to the variation in pressure be- Uopies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Washington, D. G.

container which is, broadly speaking, of perforated material, is preferably provided with transverse partitions as shown to keep the material from settling down the incline of the spiral. The partitions as shown, are apertured so that the water passes freely through them giving a spiral feed in the direction of the length of the container.

This device also has the advantage that the container is tapered from the bottom toward the top at each and every point of its length, providing a large top area to support the increased bulk of the carbid due to expansion which takes place as it is consumed. Also, the opening at the top spiral surface 16 of the container is exposed at all points providing convenient access for filling and easy loosening and removal of the ashes or consumed carbid.

I have thus described my invention specifically and in detail in order that its nature and operation may be fully understood; however, the specific terms herein are used descriptively rather than in their limiting sense and the scope of the invention is defined in the claim.

I claim In an acetylene generator, a support for the carbid, the same consisting of an elongated, perforated container of tapered crosssection arranged substantially in an upright spiral of a plurality of turns, the container having transverse partitions the partitions being apertured for the passage of the water.

Signed by me at Baltimore, Maryland, this 8th day of April, 1918.

ALEXANDER F. JENKINS. Witnesses:

THEo. M. THoMrsoN, S. H. WVALKER.

Commissioner of Patents, 

